Merging three departments is a good start - let's keep going

ACT Leader David Seymour is welcoming the third reading passage of the Environment (Disestablishment of Ministry for the Environment) Amendment Bill, saying the MCERT merger shows what a more focused Government can look like.

“With three departments merged into one, we’re down from 41 departments to 39. It’s a good start, but we can get that number lower,” says Mr Seymour.

“New Zealanders have been paying for a Wellington spaghetti bowl: different departments, different payroll systems, different HR teams, different policy shops, often working on overlapping problems with tangled reporting structures.

“The MCERT merger brings environment, housing, urban development, transport, regional development, and local government functions into the new Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.

“It means the bureaucracy now better reflects reality. Planning, housing, transport, infrastructure, and local government are not separate problems in the real world. You cannot build houses without roads, pipes, consents, funding, and councils focused on core services.

“Nine different ministers, plus an under-secretary, have been responsible for the merged policy areas. This kind of complexity is rife across government. It muddles accountability and means Ministers can pass the buck while bureaucrats quietly run the show, pushing their own agenda.

“MCERT is a step toward clearer responsibility, simpler oversight, and a public service organised around delivery. We should take this logic and extend it to other departments.

“As I said in my State of the Nation speech last year, we do not need 82 portfolios and 41 departments to live better lives. We need a government that does its job, respects taxpayers, and then gets out of the way.

“ACT will keep pushing for a smaller, simpler Government that delivers core services and lets New Zealanders get on with their lives.”